A380 arrives at London Heathrow

20 January 2006

A 4 x 4 metre, 1:20 scale model of a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 aircraft is being unveiled at London Heathrow as a prelude to the world’s first twin-deck, twin-aisle aircraft, entering commercial service in late 2006.Ê The model will be suspended 4.5 metres above the ground at Heathrow’s Terminal 3 Departure Lounge throughout 2006.Ê
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The iconic image of the Singapore Airlines girl will also welcome the 50 million passengers to Terminal 3 during 2006 at ‘The Singapore Airlines A380 Light Wave’.Ê It is five metres tall with curved steel walls measuring nine metres and 12 metres wide linked by 26 steel slats.Ê The walls and slats are illuminated by wall wash lights which have a reach of 10 metres and display a myriad of colours and sequencing.
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Singapore Airlines will be the first airline in the world to fly the A380.Ê The aircraft will operate on the Kangaroo route between London, Singapore, and Sydney meaning SIA’s UK travellers will be among the first in the world to experience a new travel concept on board the double decker superjumbo. Ê
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Singapore Airlines Sales and Marketing Manager Mr Tony Lusk said: “This is an exciting year for us.ÊÊ We hope the A380 scale model installation and the welcome of our gracious Singapore Girl at ‘The Light Wave’ at Heathrow will capture travellers’ imaginations and generate even more excitement around the largest commercial aircraft ever built.”
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The A380 has a wingspan equivalent to almost nine London Routemaster buses placed end to end (80 metres), a length of 73 metres and a height of 24 metres.Ê The Singapore Airlines A380 will be designed to accommodate less than 480 seats in a three-class configuration, although at its full capacity, the aircraft can hold 555 seats in the same layout.
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According to the airline, the A380 aircraft will raise the benchmark for the Singapore, and the commercial aviation industry as a whole.Ê There will be three classes on the A380:Ê First, Raffles (Business) and Economy.ÊÊ The First and Raffles Class products will be very different from the First Class SkySuites and Business Class SpaceBeds that are currently in service.
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Singapore Airlines has 10 A380 aircraft on firm order and 15 on option. The order is worth US$8.6 billion, including the cost of spares and installed engines (this does not include cost of spare engines).
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